Ukraine: A Slam Dunk!
Activities
By Jared Stewart, Iowa State University

When I came to Ukraine 3 months ago, I had some hopes to learn about a new culture, make a couple new friends, and get some exercise. Little did I know that I would have the chance to be the starting center for the basketball team here at LSAU. Having not played competitively since 8^th grade, I was a bit overwhelmed to have such an opportunity.

It’s not everyday that you get the opportunity to play basketball in a foreign country. Maybe it is for a gifted athlete, but not for someone with my kind of speed and coordination; or lack there of. It didn’t take much of a genius to see that I got that position for my wide body rather than my jumping ability. However, my lack of vertical jump was the least of the challenges I encountered. Unlike the classes we are taking, the other students on the basketball team aren’t studying English.

Luckily, “center” and “zone” sounds pretty much the same in both languages. I experienced the difficulties in communication as the coach would try and tell me what he wanted in Ukrainian. By pointing and gestures I was able to understand most of his instructions. Needless to say, two hours of basketball practice turned into an extra couple hours of Ukrainian language class.

The next challenge I found was scheduling. I was usually lucky to find out a day in advance what time practice was the following day. And games…no one seemed to know when we started playing games. All of a sudden, I was told that we had a game that afternoon and they would be at the dorm to get me at 5. Fantastic! We would jump on the wonderful marshrutka and head to the court at the Polytechnic Institute. There we played in a league with 6 other teams. We finished second in the league with a record of 4-2.

I have accomplished my goals of learning the culture by my improvement in language and also getting some exercise. But neither of these compare to the friendships I have made through this experience. I helped some with ideas for a video project they were doing. I had more friends to go out on the town with. And just last weekend they took me to some of the historic places that I hadn’t been to in L’viv. As much fun as I had playing basketball, the friendships I made with my teammates will last longer than the free-throws I made in our overtime win.

Jared made it through the game. He's gonna miss these guys

   Recently the weather couldn’t be better.  It stays sunny till almost 8pm most days allowing for the freedom to stay out for both the Ukrainians and the Americans.  This good weather makes most of us wish we brought more summer clothes with us (or we could stay a little longer in Ukraine until the summer). 

Well, the city is alive with life now on the streets as we see many small vendors peddling their goods on the street and all around.  I have to say I have seen more Ukrainians out on the streets in the last two weeks than I have the whole time we’ve been here.  It is almost like they were all in hiding til the warm weather came.  Since most people know that we are American, the students especially will say what few words they know in English to get our attention so we can start a conversation with them in a Ukrainian and English mix that we like to call Ukrainglish.      

Chowing down. It's definitely finger lickin' good!!

  There are two things that most people I know think of when they hear “Ukraine.”  “Isn’t that in Russia?” and Chernobyl.  We have learned first hand the differences between Russia and Ukraine, but it wasn’t until last week, in a lecture by Bohdan Krektun, that we got an in depth look at the disaster of Chernobyl.    

  The explosion that rocked northern Ukraine April 26, 1986 devastated the region.  Instantly, firefighters rushed to the scene in attempts to battle the fires and control the situation.  Thousands of firefighters made their way to the Nuclear Power Plant in the following hours.  In all, 600,000 people helped to eliminate the consequences from the explosion.

  An even bigger problem was the nuclear matter released by the explosion.  Helicopters were dispersed to decontaminate the area that had the highest concentration of radio nuclides.  The damages were enormous; over 2600 square kilometers and 3,361,870 Ukrainians suffered from the disaster. 

  Even today, Ukraine is reminded of the disaster that shook the world.  There are monuments and reminders that can be found across the country.  Not only in Kiev, 80 miles away, but in L’viv as well; there is memorabilia everywhere.  While people may never be able to live in the Chernobyl region any time soon, the memory of what happened there will not be forgotten.

Professor Krektun tells us about the Chernobyl disaster

Ukrainian Easter: Paska!
Culture
By Randy Koontz, Penn State University

  Oh man! Food, food and more food! I have never eaten so much food. It was amazing to see how Ukrainians celebrate Easter. Easter is definitely a huge holiday here in Ukraine. One common phrase I learned to say is the equivalent to “Christ is risen!” and the response would be “Indeed He is risen!”. This was the common greeting to everyone during the Easter holiday and we noticed that this was also the typical acknowledgement to just about anyone in passing.

   The most important elements of celebrating Easter are held in the Paska basket. Making a basket and taking it to church is very common during Easter. The basket typically holds a piece of sausage, an egg, baked bread called Paska, grated beets with horseradish, butter, and a candle. An embroidered towel covers the basket and when it’s taken to the church, it’s removed. The priest blesses the food and everyone with holy water. It was a sight to see everyone standing in a circle with their baskets. After blessing the food, it is taken back to the home and everyone sits down for a meal and eats what was in the basket. Easter is a time for tradition and lots of good food. Somehow I found out first hand that Ukrainian cakes like me, for some reason, especially EASTER ONES!

   The day after Easter Sunday is called “ Wet Monday” and I really found out first-hand that you better have a bottle of water in your hands at all times or you will be swimming in water. Easter was a great experience for all of us and we would like to thank the Ukrainians for all their hospitality during the past four months. It was very educational for all of us as we had the chance to visit different Ukrainian homes and experience Easter.

Happy Paska! Randy loves those Easter cakes

By Randy Koontz, Penn State University

   Rake, paint and sweep! As spring has sprung in Ukraine it has been an amazing sight to see how much the campus has changed. This year on April 17^th, the campus was recognized for their participation in an event called Environmental Protection Day. Don’t get this confused with Earth Day. They celebrate that day just like we do. In preparation for Environmental Protection Day, both students and faculty members worked to beautify the campus through the planting of new trees and cutting down of old ones, raking and piling leaves to burn them.

   The first cutting of the lawn around the LSAU campus has taken place. With all these things that have been going on, the campus has been transformed into a much more vibrant campus.  It has been so great to have the smell of fresh cut grass in the air this month on the LSAU campus. The work of Lviv State Agrarian University is different than American universities. Here at LSAU we were surprised to see that Ukrainian students perform outside chores. The work is done through a class and is a requirement. The beauty and care that LSAU put into their campus this spring have made an impression on all of us.

Have you hugged a tree lately?

Questions? Comments? E-mail Us!